The meeting will be attended by Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of Belgium Charles Michel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Estonia Jüri Ratas, Prime Minister of Latvia Māris Kučinskis, Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven, Finland’s State Secretary for EU Affairs Kare Halonen and Denmark’s Permanent Under Secretary of State Michael Starbæk Christensen.
Baltic and Nordic countries have already established a long-standing tradition of cooperation in the EU and coordinate their positions before each European Council. The meeting in The Hague presents an opportunity for Lithuania to discuss, among other important issues, the matters of European security, defense and Brexit negotiations with Benelux countries as well. The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg understand security challenges faced by our region and help countering them – Benelux troops are part of the multinational NATO battalion in Lithuania.
President Dalia Grybauskaitė will leave The Hague for Brussels to attend the European Council meeting on June 22-23. The heads of state or government will discuss EU’s enhanced cooperation in security and defense as well as the establishment of the European Defense Fund. The leaders will also assess progress on measures taken to manage migration flows, discuss EU’s economic and trade policy, digital agenda, fight against climate change, EU’s external relations and the implementation of the Minsk Agreements.
The EU heads of state or government and UK Prime Minister Theresa May will also talk about the beginning of Brexit negotiations. The European Council will take into account the criteria for deciding on the cities to host London-based European Medicines Agency and European Banking Authority.
In Brussels, President Dalia Grybauskaitė will bestow a state award upon Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Federal Republic of Germany. The German Chancellor is awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great for her personal contribution to the development of the bilateral relations. Germany greatly contributes to our national security and leads the multinational NATO battalion in Lithuania. It is also one of the most important economic partners of Lithuania with investments reaching 1.2 billion euro.
